Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
May 19, 2015

When Don Winfield Harper returned to court today, he applied to acting Magistrate Alliston Seale for bail.

The Richmond Gap, St Michael resident was charged, along with journalist Timothy McDonald Slinger, with entering De Diva Hype Bar sometime between March 10 and April 15 and stealing liquor worth $2 361 belonging to Jacqueline Proverbs. The items included 139 beers, 15 bottles of brandy, 12 bottles of whiskey, four bottles of vodka, 13 bottles of wine and two bottles of Irish whiskey.

When he first appeared in court, Harper was remanded based on the fact that he was already on bail for another offence.

Today, he said he could not recall whether he was on bail for another offence or not, but he was “not getting his medication properly” at the prison and needed to do so.

“ I was just doing a job that (someone) asked me to do,” he explained in relation to his charge.

Harper said he spoke to someone at the prison who advised him to inform the court of his circumstances.

“The prison don’t have those kind of facilities,” he said, adding that he has had two nervous break-downs since being on remand.

“My mother is dead and my father is in the Psychiatric Hospital, and I had a hard life coming up in children’s homes,” Harper said.

He was granted $3 000 bail and must report to a police station every Wednesday. He returns to court on June 17, when his matter comes up again in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court.